THE BRIT LIST: DEVELOPMENT CREATIVE MASTERMINDS
BRABEN is a legend in UK games development. He began by experimenting with making games for Atom, including a title called Fighter, a precursor to his smash hit Eliteseries. Today he is chairman of Frontier, the studio behind the likes of LostWinds, Thrillvilleand Xbox One launch title Zoo Tycoon. And he is also co-founder of Raspberry Pi, a tiny single-board computer with the intention of teaching basic computer science in schools. “It’s difficult to say what my favourite achievement is,” he says. “I’m very proud of the Elitegames, of course including Elite:
ALEX WARD, THREE FIELDS ENTERTAINMENT
WARD left Criterion – a firm the he founded with Fiona Sperry in 2000 – at the start of 2014 to form a new outfit. At the moment the firm is seeking staff, and is set to be a force to be reckoned with in the UK independent game development scene. Ward is a vocal supporter of British games development, and is behind numerous brands, including Burnout, Blackand Need for Speed.
CHARLES CECIL, MBE, REVOLUTION
NOT only famous for heading up Revolution studios, Cecil is making sure that those working in video games have access to affordable training as part of the Creative Skillset program. Cecil holds an MBE in honour of his services to the video game industry and is a regular speaker about all things video games. Recently he took to Kickstarter to fund the latest entry in the Broken Swordseries.
www.mcvuk.com
Dangerous. I’m proud of Raspberry Pi, I’m proud of how we have grown Frontier, I’m proud of the success of all our games, and the
changes I think we have made in the industry.” Braben hopes that through his work with Raspberry Pi, he is offering new opportunities for a new generation of game makers. “Hopefully we have helped give some great opportunities to people today, akin to the opportunities we had in the 1980s.”
ANDREW WEBBER, MICROSOFT
THE headlines surrounding Xbox One may be dominated by the likes of Titanfall, Halo andForza. But the platform holder remains hugely active in the indie games space. Andrew Webber may not have the public profile of Phil Harrison, but behind the scenes he is playing a crucial role for smaller developers that want to bring their ideas to Windows and Windows Phone.
BARRY MEADE, FIREPROOF
IN 2012 there was one game on the lips of mobile fans the world over – The Room. Barry Meade proved that mobile games could compete with the triple-A giants. The game saw critical acclaim and has sold over 1m copies. And we perhaps should not be surprised – Meade has proven his game pedigree, working for Criterion on the likes of the Burnoutseries and Black.
CHRIS AND JASON KINGSLEY, OBE, REBELLION
FOUNDED in 1992 by the Kingsley brothers, Rebellion is but one example of how an independent studio can thrive. It now employs 200 people and has been awarded five BAFTAs. Jason also chairs the UK’s development trade body TIGA and holds an OBE for his services to the British economy. Meanwhile, Chris is TIGA’s director of education and professional development.
March 28th 2014 13
ALEX EVANS, MEDIA MOLECULE
UK game makers are among the best in the world. And here are just 35 that are inspiring a generation
DAVID BRABEN, FRONTIER AND RASPBERRY PI
IN 2008, there was one game that everybody wanted to play. Alex Evans’ charming platformer LittleBigPlanetbrought Media Molecule into the limelight. The studio that Evans co-founded has gone on to become one of the most inventive developers that the UK has to offer, and one of the crown jewels in Sony’s long list of developers.
ALICE TAYLOR, MAKIELAB
TAYLOR has been involved in games for almost two decades, even helping to build the first website for Grand Theft Auto. Over the years she’s been involved with Golden Joysticks, QuakeFest and GT Interactive. Her work for Channel 4 signing indie titles saw her named Publisher Hero at the Develop Awards 2010. She’s a 3D printer innovator, and her new company is building a free-to-play toy product in this space. She’s excited by the changes in the industry with new business models, triple-A development and the rise of indie games but admits: “It’s harder than ever to get noticed, so while there’s more and more choice, there is also a massive power curve of attention. Supercell and Rovio and King can buy everyone else out of the running.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52